As the summer heats up, and we take to the shade, it's great to think what trees really do for our urban areas.

Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr., a senior fellow for environmental and sustainable systems at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, had this to say about what urban trees do in a recent Huffington Post article:

A single mature tree can absorb as much as 48 lbs. of CO2 per year and release enough oxygen to support two human beings.

A well-placed mature tree can reduce annual air conditioning costs by 2% to 10%.

The Center for Urban Forest Research has estimated that a property with trees is valued 5% to 15% higher than a comparable lot with no trees.

Planting urban trees is one of the least expensive ways to reduce urban air pollution and decrease health problems and related costs. A study conducted in New York City in 1994 estimated that the trees in New York City removed 2,007 tons of air pollutants with an estimated benefit to society of $9.5 million.

"It's clear that our quality of life is enhanced by our urban forests, and that planting a single tree in an urban setting will yield a significant return on the investment," Cornelius says. "Greening our cities and expanding our urban forests will clearly improve our quality of life."